Ladder bracing attachment



March 23, 1965 M. B. SMITH LADDER BRACING ATTACHMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dct. 4, 1963 Fig.

Maurice B- Smith INVENTOR.

March 23, 1965 Filed 001. 4, 1963 Ii l M. B. SMITH 3,174,584

LADDER BRACING ATTACHMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

Maurice B. Smith 1N VENTOR.

United States Patent 3,174,584 LADDER BRACING ATTACHMENT Maurice B. Smith, 5504 Cedar Ave, Philadelphia, Pa. Filed Oct. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 313,968 Claims. (Cl. 182-172) This invention primarily relates to a ladder attachment for preventing the ladder to which it is attached from tilting to either the left or the right when the ladder is being used.

It is the primary object of this invention to disclose the combination of a ladder with an attachment for bracing and preventing tilting of the ladder when in use which comprises a pair of vertically and laterally adjustable ground engaging legs secured to opposite side rails of the ladder, each of said legs including sections which are telescopically adjustable independent of each other for varying the bracing effect and adjusting the height of the device.

A more particular object of this invention resides in the fact that each leg section includes a pair of relatively slidable superimposed beams, each of said beams including a series of alignable apertures spaced along the axis thereof for receiving removable pins insertable through some of said aligned apertures to lock the beams in adjusted position.

Another object of this invention resides in the sturdy construction of said legs, which are properly braced to prevent their collapse when a load is applied thereto.

Yet another object of this invention resides in the simplicity of construction of said bracing attachments, their case of attachment to the ladder structure and sturdy construction.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the combination of a ladder structure and a pair of bracing attachments secured thereto which comprise the subject matter of the instant invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view of one of the bracing attachments secured to the ladder structure which is shown in section;

FIGURE 3 is a side View in elevation of the structure depicted in FIGURE 2 with certain portions thereof shown in section for purposes of description and clarity;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially along the plane indicated by the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially along the plane indicated by the line 55 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken substantially along the plane indicated by the line 6-6 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective View of one of the bracing attachments in folded and stored position.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a pair of bracing attachments generally designated by the numerals 1i) and 12 are adapted to be secured to opposite side rails 14 and 16 of a ladder structure 18 in order to brace and prevent tilting of said ladder either to the right or left as viewed in FIGURE 1. Each of the bracing attachments It and I2 is identical in structure and comprises a pair of sections 20 and 22 hinged together as shown at 24.

The section 26 is adapted to be secured to a ladder side rail and extend laterally away therefrom. The se- 3,174,584 Patented Mar. 23, 1965 curement is accomplished by attaching an end plate 26 to the end of the section 20. The bottom of the plate 26 is rolled to form a journal within which the bight portion of the U-shaped clamp 30 may swing. The clamp 30 includes a plate 32 which receives the legs of the clamp 30, the ends of which are threaded to receive nuts 34 whereby positioning of the plate 32 on the inner side of the side rail of the ladder and tightening the nuts 34 will rigidly secure the section 20 of the bracing attachment to the side rail.

The section 22 is adapted to extend perpendicular to the ground. A rectangular foot 36 is secured to the bottom of the section 22 by means of L-shaped brackets 38.

Each of the sections 20, 22 includes a pair of relatively slidable superimposed beams such as shown at 4946. The beam 40 is adapted to slide relative to the beam 42 to vary the height of the bracing attachment and the beam 44 is adapted to slide and telescope relative to the beam 46 for adjusting the width of the bracing attachment. U-shaped brackets such as 48 are spaced along the beams 42 and 46 for guiding the sliding movement of the beams 4i and 44, respectively. Each pair of beams includes a first and second series of alignable apertures 50 spaced along the axis of each beam. Removable pins such as 52 are adapted to be inserted through some of said aligned apertures for securing said beams in relatively adjusted relation.

In order to further rigidity each bracing structure and preventing collapse by the hinge 24, a pair of bracing elements such as 54 are positioned between the sections 20, 22. Each brace 54 includes a pair of portions 56 and 58 hinged together as shown at 60 so that the braces 54 may be collapsed when the attachments 12 and 14 are folded into stored position as shown in FIGURE 7. When the sections 20, 22 are opened to a use position, the pivotable portion 58 of the brace 54 having a stop member 62 adjacent the hinge 60 is adapted to seat said stop member 62 in abutting engagement with an edge of the pivotable bracing portion 56 to thereby limit the relative pivotal movement of said hinge portions of the brace. This prevents collapse and undue pivotable movement of the sections 20, 22 of each bracing attachment.

As shown in FIGURE 7, each of the bracing attachments 10 and 12 are adapted to be folded into a stored position and locked in said position. This is accomplished by removing the clamp 36 from the ladder side rail and pivoting the sections 20, 22 toward each other about the hinge 24. The pivotable portions 56 and 58 of the braces 54 will also pivot toward each other. This collapsed position is substantially shown in FIGURE 7. To lock said bracing attachments in the stored position, it is only necessary to pivot the clamp 3% so that it surrounds the beam 40 and then secure the end plate 32 to the legs of the clamp 39 to lock the sections 20, 22 together.

It should also be noted that the plate 26 is attached at an angle to the beam 44 of the section 23. Due to this angle, the sections 20 of the attachments Iii and 12 will be secured to the side rails of the ladder at an angle to the horizontal as shown in FIGURES 1 to 3. This will increase the bracing effect of each of the attachments while not sacrificing any of the height adjustment. Further, due to the angle orientation of the sections 20 the side thrust imparted to the bracing attachment is substantially reduced.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling Within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a ladder, an attachment for bracing and preventing tilting of said ladder when in use comprising a pair of vertically and laterally adjustable, ground-engaging legs secured to opposite side rails of said ladder, each leg including a pair of sections hinged together at adjacent ends for rotation about an axis extending transversely of said sections between collapsed positions with said sections disposed in side-by-side generally parallel relation and extended positions with one section substantially vertically disposed and the other section extending in a laterally and upwardly inclined direction from the upper end of the corresponding one section, said other section, when said legs are extended, extending downwardly and laterally away from the corresponding side rails of said ladder and the other sections disposed perpendicular to the ground and dependingly supported from the lower ends of the corresponding one section, each of said sections being longitudinally adjustable independent of the other, and bracing means operatively connected between the sections of each leg for rigiditying each leg when in use and preventing the other sections of said legs from pivoting relative tothe first sections of said legs past said extended positions.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein each leg section includes a pair of relatively slidable superimposed beams, means for guiding the relative sliding movement of one beam with respect to the other, and means for locking said beams in adjusted relation.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said locking means includes a series of alignable apertures spaced along the axis of each beam and removable pins adapted to be inserted through some of said aligned apertures.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said other section of each leg includes pivotable clamp means mounted at the upper end thereof releasably pivotally securing said leg to the corresponding side rail of said ladder.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said clamp means includes stop means carried by said other sections abuttingly engaging the corresponding side rail of said ladder and preventing upward swinging movement of the lower ends of said other sections relative to said latter past said laterally and upwardly inclined operative positions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 294,879 3/84 Johnson 182172 554,695 2/96 Hood "182-472 561,138 6/96 Sigsby 182155 2,755,144 7/56 Simmons 182-172 3,071,204 1/ 63 Piltingsrud 182-27 HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A LADDER, AN ATTACHMENT FOR BRACING AND PREVENTING TILTING OF SAID LADDER WHEN IN USE COMPRISING A PAIR OF VERTICALLY AND LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE, GROUND-ENGAGING LEGS SECURED TO OPPOSITE SIDE RAILS OF SAID LADDER, EACH LEG INCLUDING A PAIR OF SECTIONS HINGED TOGETHER AT ADJACENT ENDS FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID SECTIONS BETWEEN COLLAPSED POSITIONS WITH SAID SECTIONS DISPOSED IN SIDE-BY-SIDE GENERALLY PARALLEL RELATION AND EXTENDED POSITIONS WITH ONE SECTION SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY DISPOSED AND THE OTHER SECTION EXTENDING IN A LATERLLY AND UPWARDLY INCLINED DIRECTION FROM THE UPPER END OF THE CORRESPONDING ONE SECTION, SAID OTHER SECTION, WHEN SAID LEGS ARE EXTENDED, EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AND LATERALLY AWAY FROM THE CORRESPONDING SIDE RAILS OF SAID LADDER AND THE OTHER SECTIONS DISPOSED PERPENDICULAR TO THE GROUND AND DEPENDINGLY SUPPORTED 